Thanks God I'm a journalist

Russia needs investment, geographical expansion to maintain oil production

Govt support, economic growth to help Russian car market expand 25% in 2011

Social Networks – most addictive drug?

“What’s your Vkontakte ID?” This is a pretty common question these days. Social networks are a big part of our everyday lives now. It’s almost impossible to find a young man or a girl who hasn’t registered in one of the top three networks. A personal page has become something like an online passport. Gone are the days when people looked at new ideas with a jaundiced eye. Now, if you don’t have an account you have bad manners.

Social network inhabitants can be divided into three groups. The first consists of those who open their personal web pages only rarely. Their friend lists include 50-60 people at most. The second group unites those who like to check their accounts several times a day. Their friend lists are significantly larger at up to about 300 people. And finally, the third group is made up of so called network addicts. These people are network dependent. They spend every free minute checking their mailbox for new messages. Almost half of them go online before washing or having breakfast in the morning. Many users fall asleep only to wake up with their notebook or tablet staring back at them, already opened to Vkontakte, Facebook or Odnoklassniki. These heavy users may have up to 1000 people on their friend lists.

Social networks have no age limit. Users can meet either young people or can just as easily meet a woman on the wrong side of 40. It’s like a swamp: it doesn’t discriminate. Children stop doing homework, parents stop parenting and a vicious cycle ensues. Most office workers have bookmarked social networks, which doesn’t really mean they are sitting around all day, refreshing pages and hoping for new messages. These resources have become more like mobile phones. Does it ring every second? No! But it has to be nearby just in case.

For some people social networks are a chance to meet a soul mate or their better half online. Those who work long hours don’t have any opportunity to meet people most of the time. Most of them see Vkontakte as an only chance to escape the loneliness of the golden cages they live in. A social network won’t show a tired face or sad eyes. Everybody believes in an online smile.

But there is another side to the coin. Social networks can be used as a powerful tool to influence others. There is no easier way to enlist a huge online army of soul mates. Simply create a group with common interests, and they will do the rest themselves. You just need a little time. Your group’s links will spread across the net, adding participants exponentially. A good illustration of this is the recent unsuccessful attempt to launch an organized provocation on a well known network after recent events on Moscow’s Manezhnaya Square. Young Caucasus men managed to gather a huge online group willing to show protest against the spontaneous rally of the opposition and football fans, but thanks God all those people never got out to the Moscow streets.

Social networks can also provide current data. Twitter, the top-ranked global micro-blogging service, became the first source for news during the recent tragic events at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport. Blogs provided information on the deadly blast almost instantly. Many reliable media sources quoted Twitter users as they reported on the Domodedovo blast.

All of this is evidence that it’s nearsighted to deny the huge influence of the internet, social networks and the various blogging sites available from around the world. Users can spend as much time on the net as they want, but they should never forget that there is a very beautiful and real world with real smiles from sincere and real people out there. This makes pushing the off button and picking up the phone to call a loved one or a friend to say “Hey, bud, let’s meet offline” all the more important.

Courtesy of Just Nikson

The two hardest things

The two hardest things to say in life, are hello for the first time and goodbye for the last.